This CD cover image released by Epic shows "Xscape," a release by Michael Jackson. / AP/Epic

by Editors, USA TODAY

by Editors, USA TODAY

Singer Clay Aiken's rival for the Democratic nomination for Congress, Keith Crisco, 71, died unexpectedly Monday, "after an accidental fall" at his home. The entertainer led Crisco by 369 votes for the Democratic nod in North Carolina's 2nd Congressional District, but the race was too close to call and not finalized. The counties in the district have until Tuesday to report their official canvass of votes. If a recount shows that Crisco amassed more votes, local Democrats would select the nominee, an Aiken spokesperson said.

Posthumous Michael Jackson album 'Xscape' released

Even five years after his death, there is no escaping Michael Jackson. The latest evidence, Xscape,arrives Tuesday with eight "contemporized" castoffs the pop superstar recorded from 1983 to 1999. The project was hatched in September when Epic Records chief L.A. Reid met with Jackson estate co-executor John Branca. The estate combed Jackson's archives and found 24 suitable tracks. Reid settled on 20, then pared that to 14. Most were reworked, but only eight made the cut.

Special report: Mental health system drowning from neglect

Hundreds of thousands of people with serious mental illness are falling through the cracks of a mental health system in tatters, a USA TODAY special report shows. Nearly 40% of adults with "severe" mental illness - such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder - received no treatment in the previous year, according to the 2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

150 years since first burial at Arlington National Cemetery

Arlington National Cemetery will hold a wreath-laying ceremony at the grave of Union Army Pvt. William Henry Christman, who became the first person to be buried there on May 13, 1864 - 150 years ago today. Burials at the cemetery began in large part due to the bitterness of Quartermaster Gen. Montgomery Meigs. Meigs, angry that his former mentor, Robert E. Lee, had joined the rebellion and desperate for more space to bury the accumulating dead of the Civil War, recommended that the Lee estate overlooking Washington be turned into a graveyard.

Opinion: Michael Sam most important football player in U.S.

Two days ago, Michael Sam was the eighth-to-last man selected in the NFL draft. Today, he is the most important football player in the nation, writes USA TODAY Sports columnist Christine Brennan.